How to get your kids to stop the Mom Chant (or Dad Chant) with the Princess Jennifer technique…

For those of you who might be unfamiliar with the Mom Chant I suggest you watch the video clip we have uploaded from Family Guy so you know exactly what we mean by the Mom Chant.

Ok, so during a recent family gathering my cousin Jenny told the story of the day she snapped on the Mom Chant.

One Saturday morning she was home doing what a lot of working Moms do these days which is both taking care of housework while also working on some things for her job. As you know, neither task lends well to distraction or interruption especially with the Mom Chant. And really – no matter what you are doing or not doing you don’t want to hear the Mom Chant, right?! So anyway, same thing as every other day her girls one by one and over and over would come in and say “Mom Mom Mom Mom.” So this went on for a bit until Jenny snapped.

Now, please understand at the moment she snapped her tone was not the “total Mom breakdown tone”…you all know the one I’m talking about…but no, this time it was that methodical “I mean business Mom tone” and in that tone she said, “Look. I’ve had it with the Mom Mom Mom Mom so if you want something from me…well from now on I’m only going to answer to Princess Jennifer.” Her reasoning was that a kid could not possibly chant Princess Jennifer in the same way they chant Mom. Fortunately just marking her new territory was enough to get her girls to back off and leave her be for a while.

Later that day they went to the grocery store and as they were walking through the store the Mom Chant from both girls fired up again. Jenny’s initial frustration quickly faded as she realized she had them both securely in her trap. With a new found swagger seeded by her sense of humor she began leisurely cruising through the grocery aisles randomly picking up things she needed but also making a point, squarely in front of her girls, to look at unusual and odd things she didn’t need knowing they would take notice of her intently looking at something she would never actually buy. This was all part of her strategy to just flat out ignore the girls until she got what she wanted.

Well when it finally came it was not a “tanked up kid temper tantrum tone” no this was a “kid melted down to defeat tone” and it rang out like music to Jenny’s ears when she heard “hhuumm Pprriinncceessss Jjeennnniiffeerr?” to which she smiled, turned to her girls and joyfully quipped “Yes Dears?” Even better was that everyone within earshot turned around and looked at all of them. As parents we all know that our very best weapon against our kids is a weapon that should only be used rarely and in the most careful of ways. Yes, she had them this time with a perfectly placed “die of embarrassment” factor which only helped to drive the point home. (The seemingly evil grin on my face as I write this right now is really the “parent omniscient grin”).

This technique was too irresistible not to pass along. With Jenny’s permission I am sharing her idea. Ok so, the next time the Mom Chant is wearing you down just make your kids call you Princess whatever your name. And Jenny and I wholeheartedly believe that this would be doubly effective for our male readers. Imagine when you ask your kids to call you PRINCESS whatever your GUY name is! LOL! And yes, when it comes to my kids, I’m of course going by Princess Kristina from now on.

Welcome to Kristina’s House!

Neither desperate housewife nor damsel in distress but rather – a hardworking homemaker! I live on an acreage in the country and work in the city running my own consulting firm. This is not a lonesome prairie, wild frontier or sandy beach. Visit here to learn how work and life blend successfully in the Midwest. [Read More …]